Purple
by Bub-Omb
Summary: The Pokémon Tower, resting inside Lavender Town, houses the souls of deceased Pokémon and the loved ones who mourn them; but perhaps the Ghastlys and Haunters that lurk its floors were not drawn to its location as naturally as one may assume. This story is narrated from a time before the events of Red and Blue's journey's, and unfolds a devious plot from Silph Co and Team Rocket.
1. Chapter 1

It's really quite a strange feeling to lose someone close to you. The age old saying always burns into your mind, _"You don't know what you have until it's gone." _Not that I felt I didn't appreciate what I had, but it never really hit me just how hard a loss would be.

People are scum, I mean, we all know that. There are some who look to themselves and nothing else, and the lives affected in their paths make no difference whatsoever. It's depressing, but those people exist. I, like others, felt that I could stop them. Like, someone has to change the world, right?

Well, I am sorry for starting off my story so… morbidly, but it's how it happened. Just bear with me for a little bit longer and I'll tell you how it all started. I need a few more minutes to mourn someone, or something. They call them animals or beast, but I call them friends. Pokémon. Yeah, yeah, over rated, over used; an overly heard phrase. But she was my friend, my best friend. I kneel at her grave, buried deep within Lavender Town's Pokémon Tower, and memories just flood back into my mind. Everyone has a Pokémon close to them, but I can't imagine anyone having someone as close I did. She was the family I never had, the friend I always wanted. Again, I digress. Let's just go back to the official beginning.

* * *

><p>The ground was cold beneath my feet. A pair of sandals would have been nice, but I mean, you can't be too picky. My parents did not have enough money to spare for shoes, and I would rather have food. Life was rough, but the most upsetting thing was how alone I felt. I was the odd kid in a crowd, the quiet one at school, the goofy looking one on the street. No one really talked to me and I kept to myself.<p>

I looked quite longingly at the grass around Lavender town: my hometown. I was always told to keep my distance because strange beings lingered out there and it was not safe. I had everything that I needed at home, so there was no point in venturing out… or so I was told. But I just felt lonely. I mean, it's what to expect from a kid who seems to have nothing.

Well, I did something that I probably shouldn't have that day, but I still have no regrets. I went to the Pokémon tower, the largest Pokémon burial grounds throughout Kanto. Walking in the front door hit one with a wave of depression; there were just so many people crying and praying for the safe afterlife of their Pokémon. I wish I had some way to soothe them but I honestly could not connect. I didn't have anyone so close that I would mourn their death, nor had I ever trained a Pokémon.

I wandered about the tower and got some sharp glances from the peoplevisiting, seeing as I was clearly a little too happy to be there. The fact of the matter was that I was quite happy to be exploring somewhere that I shouldn't be; it was a bit exhilarating. Unfortunately, the ground was no warmer inside than it was outside.

I continued to climb the floors of the building until I had reached the top. No one else stood up there, but I felt a little at peace seeing as I wasn't receiving any strange glares and people just left me alone. I sat down in the corner of the room and leaned against the wall, right beside a table. Not a whole lot of decorations sat in the room, but my dark and stained clothing left me somewhat camouflaged in the shadows.

After awhile I dozed off, only to be awoken by the sounds of men grumbling and arguing with one another. I kept my mouth shut, realizing that I was clearly not supposed to be in the room, and listened in on the conversation. The men grouped around wore very strange clothing; a few had on white and black, tight against the skin, and brandishing a large letter "R" on the front, one wore a black suit with his similarly colored hair slicked back to a shine, while the other two wore lab coats and looked to be scientists of some sort.

"You guys are all idiots," the man in black stated aloud.

"What! We are so close, I am telling you!" the scientists retorted.

"Listen to yourself. You are telling me that you can resurrect the Pokémon but you can't see them? That's just the biggest load of crap I have heard. Can you prove it to me? Prove to me that this thing even exists?"

"Well…"

"Well what?"

"We don't know where it went."

"Of course you don't. Why don't you call for it? It does have a name, doesn't it?" the leader demanded.

"It goes by the name of Abby, as far as we know."

"And?"

"Well, it seems to be afraid. It just runs away when we call for it. I can't imagine that it would leave the safety of this tower without someone to guide it. There is no way it even knows where it is." The leader sighed and started for the door to the room.

"Sir!" the scientist called out.

"ENOUGH! You don't have anything to show. I am cutting funds for this operation. March back to Silph Co. and tell them we are through. I do not want to hear from you again." He left the room with the men brandishing the "R's" on their shirts, and the few scientists inside stared blankly at one another with worried expressions on their faces as if to say, "what now?" They exchanged some sighs and left promptly, unsure as to where to go next. I sat in the corner and dared not breathe too loudly until they had completely vanished from sight.

Here's where I make a move that I still ponder the validity of. I called out. I called out for… Abby. I sat for a few seconds and grinned to myself. I was a little foolish to expect it to work, seeing as the scientists had just claimed to have attempted so multiple times already. I slowly stood up and walked towards the exit to the room but I was stopped. Something was clearly in my way but I could not figure out what; it was like a mime's trick. I held my hand forth and felt a strange tingly sensation cover the skin's surface. Immediately I pulled my hand back and clenched it into a fist. I rubbed my arm to make sure that feeling was still there, but stared at the empty space that seemed to barricade my path. My mind clicked sense together and I called out again.

"Abby?" I asked. A soft curr responded and I felt the tingling slowly roll up my arm. I wanted to be afraid but in all honesty, I just couldn't pull myself to feel any sort of fear. I did not feel endangered and I was far from ignorant of what could be happening.

I continued through the doorway and it let me through that time, but the tingling stayed by my side. A smile eroded over my face and used my other arm to try to touch the entity. I could feel the strange phenomena through the palm of my hand, but it was oddly comforting. I scratched at its head as if it was a cat and I heard the soft curring once again. It was alive, just like me and the men who were in the room just moments ago. And for once, it trusted something. I cannot say why it clung to me, but – quite simply – it did.

The remainder of the walk down the building gained just as many strange looks as ever, but I did not care. I had a friend beside me that time.

I didn't know whether or not it would be appropriate to try and introduce Abby to people. She was clearly fairly shy, or at least afraid of the men from Silph Co. who had been in the Pokémon Tower, and I figured people would just call me insane if I tried to talk to them about her. But what could I do? Pretend that the revived Pokémon didn't exist? She did, I knew it. But no one else would. Do I even want to risk letting people know about her? What if Silph Co. figures out and tries to take her back? Perhaps I could just stall until the company's project goes under, being without funds from the strange man in the black suit on his shirt.

My pace slowed significantly as I came close to the front door of the Pokémon Tower. I could still feel Abby brushing my side gently. I had no idea if she was just clinging on to me as I walked, or if it was more like a soft nuzzling to reassure me of her presence. Regardless, it felt good, and I had no intention of pushing her aside, even if the tingling sensation was a bit strange.

Approaching doors, I was stopped once again by the strange cold wall. I mean, I knew that it was Abby, but she seemed startled by something other than my presence. I tried to reach out and pet what I assumed to be her head, but she shied away and my hand just passed through the air. I stood there and felt quite silly – waving my arms around at nothing – but I was used to being stared at, so I didn't stop.

Despite ducking away from my gentle hand, Abby continued to block the entrance of the building from me. I pondered her actions and the words I had heard from the men earlier. They seemed convinced that she was still in the Pokémon Tower, simply too afraid to leave on her own will. So I did what I felt was most appropriate, and tried to soothe her. I couldn't stay in that graveyard forever, so better sooner than later I suppose.

"Shhh..." I whispered. "It's ok Abby, nothing is gunna hurt you out there. I will be with you. I promise." A pause pursued before I felt Abby nudge me from behind, towards the door. I giggled and held out my hand, as if guiding a child of my own across the street. Shortly afterwards I felt her grasp in my fingers. It was tight and I could even see the indentation on my skin from where she clung. The whole thing was so surreal, paranormal, but to a blissful kid who spent most of their time alone, I was just happy to have a friend. Together, we walked out of the building, and into the world of Kanto, seeing it in a totally new light than from when I had entered.

_Fair Use Disclaimer: This story is for strictly for entertainment purposes only and is entirely for nonprofit. Many characters, places, and concepts are Nintendo's copyrighted material that comes straight from games of the __Pokémon series__, and I do not own the rights to any of them._


	2. Chapter 2

I sat at home with no one else around but Abby. I spent quite a bit of time just sitting around at home but it was different to have a friend beside me. I could hear her making sounds and skittering about my house, full of excitement and energy. It made my own heart flicker with joy just to know that something was so happy to be near me. I wanted to play with her but I wasn't quite sure how to do so without being able to see her at all. Dependency upon only the sense of touch was not something a child is used to, but it was something I quickly became accustomed with.

After nearly an hour of the scampering and exploring, she settled down, deciding to rest. I could feel her lean against my thigh as I sat cross-legged. I placed my hand on her and moved it up and down to pet her, fighting through the bizarre sensation that plagued my skin as I did so. She purred and laid still. My hand rose and lowered softly, seemingly in the air, as I sat patiently. I didn't know what to do next. Part of me wanted to take Abby and go explore the world, maybe start my own Pokémon journey, but the other part of me said that I was simply too young to go out and explore like that. If I had any money I would set out with some food and Pokéballs, but that alone was where the problem sat: I had no money whatsoever, and my parents rarely had anything extra on them to give to me. Even if I did ask them, there was hardly a chance that they'd let me go without some sort of lecture on being too young and unable to survive on my own. I had proposed the idea before and provoked the response; I knew how it'd go down.

I could tell that Abby was asleep, but I wasn't tired myself, so I continued to pet her and stared at a wall in my house. I wanted to go explore and do something else with her, but I wanted her to sleep as well; I could tell that she had been through a lot more than I had. I wondered if anyone else had a Pokémon cling to them like Abby did to me, without being caught in a Pokéball. It definitely had to be a rare occurrence, if it happened at all.

I let my mind wander towards what my best option was. Every part of me said to go start a Pokémon adventure, and begin to train like all of the travelers that pass through Lavender Town do, but I just could not see how I would manage without any money. I needed to get a Pokéball and have at least one visible Pokémon with me, to battle with. Visible Pokémon... A devious smile grew over my face. I could have Abby "haunt" the local Pokémart. With the graveyard so close by, people are already a little paranoid and quick to assume one thing or another is haunted. It would be quite simple. However, the thought lurked on me. I had swiped food and a few articles of clothing on occasion but never from something as big as a Pokémart. They are ran and supplied by Silph Company, a large corporation that creates and distributes Pokémon oriented items to the general public through their marts strewn across Kanto. It still confused me as to why they would be attempting to revive Pokémon, but I did not bother to pursue that mystery.

I heard my stomach growl and wondered whether or not Abby needed to – or even could – eat. I tried to slide away from her but I could tell that I was not quite as sneaky as I had hoped to be. As I wandered into the kitchen to search for food, I felt her run up beside me and brush my leg.

"Sorry Abby, didn't mean to wake you. Now let's see..." I climbed up on the counter to get better reach of the higher cabinets, but found them to be just as empty as the lower ones. I sighed and got back to the floor, hoping mom and dad would be home soon and that they were bringing food with them. I decided that I might as well try to swipe a few Pokéballs now, seeing as I did not have anything else to do in the meantime. I walked out of my house and across the street to the big white building bearing a blue roof. It was labeled Pokémart on the outside and I walked through its amazing automatic sliding doors. I quietly giggled with excitement and patted Abby who was walking – or floating or whatever – to the side of my leg.

The store was little smaller on the inside than I had imagined it to be. A middle aged man stood as the store clerk at a glass counter that housed a number of trinkets and items, probably more expensive ones that needed special attention to ensure their security. I wasn't going on any sort of huge heist; I just needed some Pokéballs and possibly a few potions... if Abby could even eat them, that is.

Other than the clerk, two other people were inside. One was an older man who sat in a chair near the entrance, and the other was a woman browsing the goods on the shelves.

"G' Afternoon," the clerk said as I walked in. I smiled and returned a wave as I turned to browse, trying to avoid his gaze and getting roped into conversation. I did not want him to realize that I had no money on me and had no intention of purchasing.

I saw that the old man was reading a magazine about Pokémon. The cover showed a Nidoran eating from a small bowl of food. I suppose that I had no idea whether or not the food was even related to the article he was reading, but I instinctively began conversation with him.

"Excuse me sir..." He lowered the journal from his eyes and peered at me from over the top. He smiled broadly at me, most likely quite friendly towards children, and asked me what I needed.

"I was... wondering if uh..." Cursed shyness kept me from saying anything half of the time. His smile shifted to more of a blank stare.

"I don't have any money for you hun," he replied to my lack of a question.

"No!" I shot out, realizing that he misinterpreted my stammering. He wrinkled his brow, thinking I planned to argue with him for money. My face blushed straight through and I scrambled to cut him off before he retorted to my bizarre spoutings.

"ImeanIwantedtoaskaboutPokémonfood!" I managed to speak before he did, but that did not seem to clear things up at all. He shook his head lightly and waited for me to continue. I took a deep breath to clear my head and simply pointed to the magazine cover. He cocked his head before flipping the journal around and looking at the picture on the cover. Immediately he pulled the pieces together and laughed about the whole situation.

"Pokémon food huh? Well, often times, trainers get their first Pokémon from a friend or by leading them in with bait and capturing them with a Pokéball. On the cover, it is advertising a specific brand of Pokémon bait. Here," he paused as he shuffled around in a pocket of his coat and pulled out a small sack of the bait he was talking about. "I'm not much for weakening Pokémon in a battle before catching them, so I always carry a bit around. Take it; go try to get a little friend for yourself." I took the bag and thanked him before continuing to wander about the store. The old man had given me more information than I could have hoped for. Not only did I now have food to see if Abby needed to eat, I could now use it as bait to catch a different Pokémon if she did not eat it, or, I could battle and weaken them with Abby to catch them.

The next step was to actually acquire a Pokéball. Abby was still beside me, standing just under my dangling right hand, keeping that fuzzy sensation and my awareness of her presence. I scratched her head and moved in between the isles, just out of view of all three people simultaneously. I pondered the best way to proceed, seeing that a few different options were available. If I could communicate to Abby to swipe a Pokéball, it would be the easiest way. As I knelt down to rub her face – or where I imagined it to be – she started to paw at the bait I stored in my coat pocket. I pulled it out and watched it sort of disappear into the air. I could feel her tongue on my hand it was even more disturbing than the simple tingling I got from touching her. I got an idea.

I took a few of the treats out and walked towards the counter with the clerk behind it. He looked up at me and straightened his posture, clearly not in the mood to be working that day. Regardless, he put on a fake smile and asked if he could help me with anything, seeing that I did not have any items in my hands to purchase. With a simple grin I threw the bait at his face. He flustered and cursed me before wiping it off and glaring at me. As he motioned his finger towards the door, he was thrown back onto the floor.

He scrambled to get to his feet, and felt Abby licking and pushing against him to get the scattered treats. He started to freak out and made quite a large scene. I quickly ducked behind a shelf to make myself invisible to the scene. The old man sitting near the entrance bolted upright and ran as quickly as he could, while the woman attempted to get closer until she heard the man screaming about ghosts, and she fled the building. The clerk quickly shoved Abby off of him, vaulted the counter, and shot straight out of the Pokémart. I smiled and called for Abby. Once she had finished eating the scraps off of the floor, she came back to my side. I moved through threw the isles and grabbed a few things that I would need for my journey: Pokéballs, potions, antidotes, Pokémon food, some human food, and water bottles. I threw them all into a backpack that was also available for sale inside the mart, and we slipped out the emergency exit in the back before the police arrived to investigate the scene.

I moved westward, hoping to find myself a Pokémon soon. My parents would be home in a little while, so I needed to be sure that I was well out Lavender Town and on my way. They would never expect to look very far. For the most part, I would be way too nervous to venture out such a distance. But for whatever reason, I simply felt safe with Abby beside me.


	3. Chapter 3

For what seemed like the first time in my life, I stepped out of my shell of a home in Lavender town and onto the westbound road. They were all carefully plotted out with route numbers, but I genuinely had no idea what they were. Perhaps a map would have been a useful item to steal while I was at the Poké Mart.

I saw the sun beginning to set over in the distance and figured that I ought to catch a Pokémon soon; I really did not want to try to capture one at nighttime. I did not have any idea what type of Pokémon I wanted to use, but I knew that I had to either decide quickly or just got on instinct.

The road seemed fairly barren for reasons I could not fathom. It was a weekday, over the summer so I was not in school, but that generally meant kids would be roaming free. I then remembered that the southern route out of Lavender Town was a bridge over the shore of the ocean, which probably lured nearly all children on a hot day to go cool off and hang out. It may have even looked a little peculiar to see me out here by myself, but I wasn't worried; I had a tendency to go unnoticed.

I looked to the patch of tall grass to my side and a giddy feeling overwhelmed me. I had never actually set foot outside of Lavender Town before, let alone into the grass where Pokémon lurked. I took in a deep breath through tight lips and tried to muster up the courage to push into the green reeds. I felt a gentle nuzzle on the back of my leg as Abby attempted to encourage me to move forward. I couldn't help but to smile at her enthusiasm and I reached out to push the foliage aside and step into the jungle where Pokémon lurked. Had I been a bit older and a foot or two taller, the experience would have hardly been anything to get worked up about. But seeing as my gaze did not breach the tops of the grasses, I was overwhelmed with anticipation.

I didn't make it very far until I tripped and tumbled to the ground. I turned and expected to feel a nudge from Abby, but it wasn't her who I had stumbled over. I saw a small plot of dirt resting near my feet, and it started to burrow towards me. I scrambled up and pushed through the grass to try and avoid the pursuing underground attacker. It stopped dead in its tracks just before it got close enough to launch at me, and I realized that it had most likely been Abby intervening, so I turned to face the attacker. It popped out of its tunnel and looked at me with two beady eyes. It was sand colored with a stone-like texture, stood on two legs with its forelegs dangling like arms housing two claws, and a soft but somewhat chubby underbelly. I told Abby to attack with the one thing I knew that she could do.

"Abby! Lick the Pokémon!" I told her. Instantly, the stony rodent locked up, most likely petrified at the strange feeling of being licked by the ghost. Before it had a chance to regain movement, I pulled out a Pokéball from my backpack and threw it at the Pokémon. The being disappeared within a red laser as the Pokéball activated. The ball rattled around a little bit before a locking sound was heard and it sat tight. I did it; I had caught a Pokémon all on my own! I was so beside myself with joy that I almost forgot to pick the Pokéball before running out of the tall grass where we had fought.

I later found out that the Pokémon's name was Sandshrew, but I didn't have the encyclopedia of Pokémon called the Pokédex when I had first caught it, so I had no idea what it was initially. I had to call it something, so I affectionately named it Brick, after its body's texture. I got lucky in the assumption of it being a male, as my Pokédex later revealed to me, but at the time I just called it a him to better suit the name I gave it.

Once I had Brick and Abby at my side, I felt unstoppable. The sun had set into the horizon and my parents were sure to begin to worry about me being missing. I wondered if they had even set out look for me yet or not. Regardless, I didn't want to go back. I had too little at home to encourage me to stay, and too much with me to persuade me that I was unprepared to explore the world, so I continued west along my original path.

It was just an hour or so later when I came across a checkpoint. They were barriers placed outside of cities, usually intersecting mountainous or forested areas, which served as both a barricade for wild Pokémon that may accidentally wander into largely populated areas and as a rest stop for trainers who were traveling and needed a break. The buildings were generally posted by a police officer or security guard of some sort, and held an upper level with couches and sometimes beds, vending machines, maps, and a large window to view the path ahead. I had only been in one once before when I was younger and my dad needed to run an errand for work and had to take me along, but it was a genuinely comfortable place to be.

I thought that it might not be a bad idea to stop and take a rest for the evening – especially since it was starting to get dark out – however a thought occurred to me: it may look quite strange to see a child waltz into a checkpoint to use a bed for the night, and by that point in time my parents were sure to have notified some sort of authorities about my disappearance. It was a surefire way to get myself caught long before I even got to start my adventure to become a Pokémon trainer. No, I would not be so foolish. So I turned around and began to walk back towards Lavender Town. I stopped in my tracks to ponder my options; going to the checkpoint was sure to fail, sleeping on the side of the road was both risky and stupid, meaning that I would have to slip past Lavender Town the next day in broad daylight. That left trying to go back through town at night, and sleeping somewhere on the other side.

I kept the Pokéball with Brick in my backpack. I didn't see any reason in trying to sneak the extra body through the town. At the time I hadn't thought of it, but the easiest route would have been to let Brick dig a tunnel underneath Lavender Town and just use it to slip past anyone who could potentially see me. I had no idea that Sandshrew would obey my commands like that after having just caught it. Any who, I made my way through but with a bit more difficulty. I had come up with a plan, and being so young, it was not the easiest thing to do. It seems that a stray butterfly is enough to completely shatter the attention and focus of a kind. So, it took some time, but I managed to devise a strategy to get through my hometown unseen.

As I came close enough to the town, I saw police officers patrolling it. There normally were not any guards standing watch, especially since most believed that Lavender Town was haunted, so they were more than likely on the lookout for me after having been reported missing by my parents. I stood in the shadows and examined their patrol routes for a few minutes before deciding on a route. I knew that one of the officers stood problematically close to where I was, and any movement into the town was sure to get myself caught.

I chuckled to myself and patted Abby before reaching into my coat pocket and retrieving the very last of the bait that the old man had given me earlier; it had definitely served its purpose. I threw it out and the little bits of food scattered across the ground at the guard's feet. He reacted quickly and shone his flashlight downward to examine the objects. He picked one up and rolled it around in his fingers for a brief moment, attempting to figure out what it was, until Abby smashed into his legs to get the snack. He quickly tumbled to the ground and I made a dead sprint out towards the edge of the town. I followed its border closely and watched a few of the other officers make their way to their downed ally, who was screaming about ghosts as Abby licked the food out of his hand. I couldn't help but to smile at how successful the silly trick had proven itself to be, and crept around the trees surrounding the southern exit to Lavender Town. Once on the other side, I stood and waited for Abby to return. I worried for a second that she may not be able to find me, so I called quietly in the air for her. In the dead of the night, I would normally have been heard, but the ruckus the guards were still making – despite having no threat present any longer – was more than enough to cover up my sounds from bystanders.

In front of me was a lengthy bridge that expanded south so far that I could not make out its other end from where I stood. I knew that I did not have many options other than pushing forward, so I did. The ocean's chill shot over me quite quickly and I became quite glad that it was the middle of summer, otherwise I would never have been brave enough to tough through the cool temperatures.

Walking over the bridge was a little eerie, and housing a ghost beside me did not help to negate that feeling. I had made it just a little ways out until I noticed that another checkpoint rested to my right. I knew that I could not seek to it for shelter, just like the one to the west of Lavender Town, but it did mean that solid ground existed not too far away. I moved towards it, noticing that the bridge extended still farther south than the exit I was using did, and made my way towards the trees next to the checkpoint. I walked to the back of the building and leaned up against its walls. It was not a particularly comfortable spot, but it was away from the ocean breeze and decently isolated from potential passing by travelers. I lay down in the dirt and Abby curled up with me, so I pet her gently for a few moments before I fell asleep, completely exhausted from the day's events. I did not know it at the time, but I still had quite the journey ahead of me, and the next day was going to prove to be much more exciting than I could have imagined.


	4. Chapter 4

I woke up with that tingly sensation of sleeping on an arm funny, throughout my entire body. It was such a shock that I bolted upright and started wiggling my fingers in an attempt to get blood flowing, but I soon realized that it was not some strange destruction of circulation through my entire body, but simply me feeling Abby up next to me as I slept. I sighed in relief and looked up to bright summer sun, beating down on my face. I had slept in way past daybreak, which was not an abnormal occurrence for a kid on break, but I sure felt pretty lazy to know so.

I got up and walked out to the bridge and heard its planks creak under my weight. The structure was called Silence Bridge, but I could hardly see where it got its name, having made so much noise from nothing more than a kid stepping onto it. I heard Abby step on to it behind me and smiled at the confusion it may bring anyone listening closely enough to tell the difference between my steps and the amount of creaking going on.

Sitting on the edge of the bridge was a fisherman, dangling his legs off and holding a fishing pole into the waters of the ocean and focusing fiercely on the string. I walked up to him and tapped him on the shoulder, just to receive a sharp hush. I waited patiently and watched the fishing line spin in small circles in the water. It was not resting in a whirlpool or anything of the sort, so it most likely meant that there was a fish playing with the bait, deep under the water.

He gave it a sharp tug and felt the tension in the line increase. He reeled in his catch for a few minutes and then stared at the Pokémon flopping helplessly about on the wooden planks of the bridge. He laughed before tossing a Pokéball at it and casually walking over to retrieve his catch.

"A fool's Pokémon," he said to me with a grin. "They call it Magikarp, as if it houses some sort of magical power. But what you saw it doing just now, flailing around uselessly, is about all I have ever had it do. So, do you want to have a Pokémon battle?" he asked, pointing to the Pokéball in my hand. I hadn't been doing so based on instinct, but I was clutching the ball as if it were all that I had.

"Um... Yessir," I replied. He smiled at me.

"What Pokémon do you have there?"

"Umm..." I honestly had no idea what it was at the time, so I just bowed my head and mumbled the nickname I had given him. The fisherman cocked his head and looked at me funny.

"Have you ever had a Pokémon battle before?"

"No sir..." He chuckled and motioned for me to toss out my Pokémon, so I did and Brick appeared before us.

"Sandshrew. You have a Sandshrew. It is a ground type Pokémon. Most all Pokémon can scratch, tackle, or pound an enemy. Your Sandshrew has claws, so it most likely knows how to scratch. Why don't you have it attack my Magikarp now?"

"Wait, really?" I asked, quite astounded that he was willing to let me beat up his Pokémon.

"Look," he directed while opening a bag. I peered inside and saw it nearly overflowing with Pokéballs.

"I have got plenty of Magikarp. I think that I can spare a few to teach someone how to battle. Now, direct it to scratch my Magikarp." I did as he instructed and the silly fish floundered about in a very unthreatening manner.

"Aren't you going to have Magikarp tackle my Sandshrew in response?" I asked with a smile. The kind fisherman let out a roar of laughter in place of a response, before continuing his lesson. "Sandshrew is a ground type, as I said, and can dig underground to assault enemies from below."

"Yeah I noticed..." I remarked, remembering the tunneling attack that Abby had blocked for me. "Ok, Brick, dig attack on the Magikarp!"

"Wait!" he shouted out at me. "We aren't on the ground!" My Sandshrew, obliged to follow my directions, smashed through the boards of the bridge and nearly plummeted to into the ocean below, but he clasped the edge of the wood before he fell completely. "You must be careful when using ground types. You cannot hit most flying or levitating Pokémon with those moves, and some won't work when your terrain won't allow for it. Be aware of your surroundings and adapt your strategy or stick to grounds that you know. Go ahead and have another swing at the Magikarp." I nodded and had Sandshrew scratch the fish two more times.

"It sure is resilient for a flopping fish..."

"True, but all Pokémon are going to be able to take more than one or two hits. Very few moves are powerful enough to do so, and very few Pokémon are strong enough to use them. It takes a lot of training and dedication to acquire."

"Oh. What are those moves? How will I know when I can use them?" I asked.

"The normal type one hit knock out moves are guillotine and horn drill, the ice type is sheer cold, and the ground type is fissure. As far as when you can use them... Well, I hate to disappoint you, but if you ever get to be strong enough to do so, it will be a very long time away. But hey! Aspire to do as you want. That's part of what being a Trainer is all about! Order your Sandshrew to finish off this Magikarp; he looks eager for the final blow." The fisherman nodded and I told my Sandshrew to scratch it one more time. The fish quit flopping about and lay fairly still, but the gentle motion of breathing could still be seen in its silhouette. Why it was breathing when it had gills, I was unsure. But Pokemon all work in very mysterious ways.

I was a little taken aback at the sight and the man chuckled.

"Don't worry, it is just unconscious. Pokémon faint in battle all of the time. It is generally how the winner is decided. Take the Pokéballs with you injured Pokémon to the Poké Center and they will patch 'em up right quite, free of charge. They are just happy to help. Any who, I am off to try and catch some other Pokémon. Hopefully I will have more luck with a different spot."

"Have you thought about getting a better fishing rod?" I questioned, noticing the shotty shape his was in. He laughed loudly and patted me on the head.

"Don't be silly! The rod doesn't determine a good catch!" He walked away, sill laughing to himself, and I turned to stare down the long bridge ahead of me. I was lucky to have met such a friendly fellow early on. I may not have done very well without his guidance. 


End file.
